Sun Mar 2-Tues Mar 4- Austin and Mardi-Gras

Sun Mar 2-Tues Mar 4- Austin and Mardi-Gras
On Sunday we stayed at the RV park as it was pouring with rain. Mychael and Breila decided that they would like to go to a shooting range... because they could. Here in Texas you can rent an AK47 or a hand gun or a rifle for as long as you like with live ammo and shoot away in an indoor range. No background checks... no age limits etc. Tiina took them there and they had a great time, although it can get a little expensive after you rent the guns, the shooting lane and buy the ammunition. (somewhere close to $100 for two people for an hour). Derek and I stayed at the 'condo' and cooked up a couple of large shepherd's pies for everyone and they came over for supper when they got back from shooting. Derek and Mychael jammed a bit on the guitar and we had a lovely visit with them. It is so nice to have friends here to stay. Just wish the weather would cooperate, but it looks like it will be colder than usual for the next few days. 
 

The gang at Stubb's BBQ

A bar, and a bar, and a bar, and a bar, and a bar!

On Monday, we all took off in the truck to investigate the city of Austin. Breila and Mychael like 'weird' things so they went to a 'weird things' museum and then we all went to some eclectic stores in the downtown area and in the South Congress area. We had wanted see the bats fly out from the congress bridge at dusk (you can see this phenomenon on you-tube), but it is too cold for them to come out, so we will have to come back another day later this week to see them. Lunch was at Stubbs BBQ downtown It is a famous BBQ, and was good, but not as good as others we have been to. After some shopping and searching for a 'taxi-dermied' Armadillo, that Briela wants to acquire (we did find one but it was a bit pricey, so we left it in the store), we had a quick drink before heading back to the RV park. Derek and I watched '12 years a slave' and thought it was excellent. (should have won more awards at the Oscars!!!)

Changeable weather - so I'll wear shorts and sheepskin jacket!! 

Armadillos don't come cheap... but they are kind cute!!

Allen's Boots where they sell.... uhhh...!!!!

BIG cacti and old truck!

Tuesday Freezing overnight, no mains water available, but our on-board tank is full. Our friends went out for the afternoon to some caverns on the road toward San Antonio.  It was a day for Derek and Janice to catch up on admin and then join in the Mardi-Gras Parade. We rode on the large wagon, which also held a small live band. Others rode golfcarts, walked the route with their dogs, or rode their bikes.. of course all decorated in Mardi-Gras colours of Yellow, Purple and Green. We toured the RV park  jamming to the music and throwing beads out to all and sundry along the way... including a few dogs, much to their surprise and delight. The parade was followed by drinks, snacks and music in the pavilion. We stayed for a while and then headed back to the RV to do some computer research and emails etc. 

Handle on the condo!! - Staying in today!!!

Table cloth froze solid! (on the patio)

YeeHaa!! Mardi Gras!!!

Mardi-Gras Cakes

Sat Mar 1 Visitors arrive and Olympics

Sat Mar 1  Visitors arrive and Olympics

Silver Medal in the Making

The back wheels are multi-directional - tough!

AND THE GOLD GOES TO...!!!

Posing with the Gold Medal

"Okay Left, NO right, NOOO left, oh S--T"

Our visitors (Tiina, Mychael and Breila) arrived on Saturday just after noon and they were very tired after a long day traveling. A beautiful day here in Texas, sunny and warm. It happened to be the day for the Hacienda RV park Olympics and Lasagna dinner, so while our friends rested and took a quick trip to a local store, Derek and Janice entered the Olympics ... 4 events .. golf cart (with the driver blindfold), pin the tail on the 'cat', a weird little bike course and beanbag toss). Now you may think that the golf cart thing sounds scary.... it is!!! The driver has to maneuver the golf-cart through a bunch of orange cones, receiving verbal instructions from the passenger. It was hilarious to watch... people screaming at each other ... "Left!!!  I said LEFT!!!!" etc. One couple drove right into a bunch of (empty) chairs and into a tree.. one husband jumped out of the cart waving his arms in defeat leaving his confused blindfolded wife in the drivers seat heading for a field. Derek and I did very well both times (we took turns at driving and just missed the medals)... HOWEVER... it was a Canadian sweep in the 'Pin the Tail on the donkey' (which was actually 'stick a star on the cat's nose'). Derek and Janice stole the podium winning gold and silver medals respectively. What a proud moment!! Derek was ace at the little bike thingy, but Janice couldn't do that one (arm too fragile)... and we were pretty rubbish in the beanbag toss. After the games were officially closed and the flame extinguished, we enjoyed a fabulous homemade lasagna dinner... each serving was enough for 3 people, but we were hungry after the exertion of Olympic stick-the-star-on-the-cat's-nose. Much music and dancing after the medal ceremony. All in all,  a fun day. Tiina popped by during the music, but they were all heading for an early night after their long day.  

Mon Feb 24 - Friday Feb 28 - Hanging out/golf/prep for visitors

Mon Feb 24 - Fri Feb 28 - Hanging out/golf/prep for visitors

Lakeway Marina... see the original water line!!

One of the things that I am told is, when writing a blog, it is better to say nothing than blog about the mundane happenings that inevitably form part of life 'on the road'. So I will try to avoid details of laundry and such except in dire circumstances... the Brisket we cooked in the crock-pot on the previous night turned out to be delicious, though somewhat salty... we puzzled about how that could be... when we never add salt to any cooking... until we took a trip back to Costco later in the week to discover it was actually 'corned beef brisket'... brined !!! Note  to self and others... beware of brisket that is brined... delicious but SO salty. 

Going going Gone!!!! ALMOST!!

Monday we headed out to explore Lakeway and the Marina. We were really shocked to see just how low Lake Travis is (not really a lake.. just a dammed area of the Colorado River.) It is 51 feet below its normal. A woman at the marina said that the last time it was at 'normal' was in 2009. 

Used to be a prime lakefront property!!!

The photos here are an attempt to demonstrate how desperate the situation is here. The Marina and Bar we went to last year in Hudson Bend (Carlos and Charlies) has recently closed for good... such a shame.

Not much marine traffic these days

The following day Derek was lucky enough to get another golf game in. He was thrilled with his game... he felt he played one of his best games ever. Today was 'Happy birthday' to Janice's brother, who she was able to talk to by phone... good to catch up with family. Janice was also invited lunch with about 20 other women from the resort.. went to The Black Walnut... nice cafe-style restaurant.. great salads and everyone had a great time. Wednesday it was back to physiotherapy at Texas orthopedics... my range of motion has improved, but still lots of pain and no ability to put any pressure on the hand or wrist. But baby steps are good! We also did another quick trip to Costco for supplies for visitors etc.  Thursday was clean-up and laundry... not a good blog topic, except we rented a carpet cleaner from 'Wallymart'... and after our carpet was soaked through we realized that it was leaking from the bottom as Derek was cleaning.. so we have a soaked carpet, but quite a clean one... it'll be nice when we can walk on it again!!!!! LOL.  Friday we finished our cleaning and went out and got supplies for the cabin we have rented for visitors. We got the key in the late afternoon and got stuff into the fridge etc. The cabin is nice, but much smaller than we expected in the main area, a result of having a queen bedroom at each end... Still it has everything anyone will need and I think it will be comfortable.

Imagine when it was at 'normal levels'... so sad...!!  They really need water here!

BLOG DELAY EXPLAINED - LIFE HAPPENS

Following this post will be some updates of a more regular kind, including photos and travel descriptions. But first I think it appropriate to explain my absence from the blogging world for the last 2 months.

Unbeknownst to me, life had some stuff in store for us over the Christmas holidays that we least expected. As a result the blog became stuffed into the back crevices of my mind and focus switched abruptly to dealing with life ‘writ large’.

It all started happily enough and truly, until New Years Eve, all was ticking along merrily. We left South Carolina, on Dec 10th excited about spending a month in Niagara on the Lake and then continuing our journey on Jan 11. The plan then was to take our time time getting to Texas, travelling through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, stopping to explore various cities and sites along the way. The upshot is we left Niagara on the Lake on Feb 3^rd, raced down to pick up the rig in South Carolina on Feb 4^th and then had a marathon drive through South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, with short stops for quick sleeps and one 2 hour stop to visit an interpretive centre on the Montgomery-Selma Freedom highway.  I will now explain the reasons.

On Dec 31, while Derek was planning to go and pick up some new specs, I thought I would walk into the village of Niagara on the Lake for a bit of retail therapy (as if Christmas hadn’t been enough!!). As I walked along, a piece of ice, unseen through a light covering of snow, caused me to accomplish an unplanned Olympic-style double back flip, but I didn’t quite stick the landing.  Instinctively I furtively looked around for unwanted witnesses. Phew, not a soul in sight.  I am unsure to this day how I managed to stand up and 'try' to sweep myself of snow., when I realized that my arm was not co-operating, and my mouth was twisted in an agonized yelp… a quick stagger home to our rented cottage and a painful, but swift drive to the hospital (thank goodness Derek hadn’t left the cottage yet!). The upshot was a break in both the ulna and radius near the wrist, which were displaced, so they knocked me out and re-aligned the bones. … OUCH!! Cast from fingers to elbow. Travel plans in danger… I was not a happy camper to say the least. Especially as Santa had bought me new golf clubs!!!!

Life was not finished with me yet however. A few days later, a call came in from my doctor. Some routine skin tests that I had not been in the least concerned about, and which I thought frankly to be unnecessary at the time had revealed that I was now going to have to deal with a malignant melanoma on my neck. Sometimes things actually do happen to you that you think only happen to others, and quite frankly it sucks!!

It is amazing how, and I know many of you will have already have experienced this, one’s philosophy on life changes when cancer decides to take ride on your body. I am fortunate. This malignancy had not spread, as far as they could tell, and local surgery later that same week appears to have removed it all.

It is only recently, and since arriving in Texas, that I have fully digested what happened and, quite frankly it is scary. I would like to take a moment to encourage all of you reading this to go to your doctor if you have any marks on your skin that are new, or changed in any way, don’t hesitate. While many skin cancers do not spread readily, malignant melanoma is the worst kind, and is very aggressive.  It spreads easily and quickly. So please take my advice… don’t delay!!!!

Now back to the arm… one of the unfortunate realities is that, along with such a bad break, one has to deal with damaged and torn ligaments in the hand and wrist, so driving is out of the question. I am now over six weeks in and the pain is still impressive, but far improved. After 4 weeks in the cast we explained to the surgeon that we were hoping to get back to our ‘condo’ in South Carolina, so he agreed to remove the cast early and put a removable splint on instead. And so it remains… slowly healing. I feel so very lucky, and indeed I am. Poor Derek has had to cope with me - a caged type-A personality, while he is driving, cooking, dressing me and dealing with my mood swings (well .. he is used to that part, I guess!!!).

So the Christmas holidays were quite an eventful time. The wonderful part was staying in a fabulous cottage in Niagara on the Lake and spending lots of time with two of our boys. We also had the opportunity to see many friends and are so grateful for all the support we received during some of the tougher moments. We did in fact have an extremely joyous time in so many ways.

I am going to start on the blog again now, and will compose some updates, which will describe our travels, with a few photos, from when we left South Carolina on Dec 10^th until we arrived here in Texas on Feb 6th. So check back over the next couple of days and you will see some postings dated earlier than this one... but they will be new posts. In the meantime stay in touch everyone. 

“start today, use what you have, do what you can”.

Thurs Feb 20 – SUN Feb 23rd 2014 – RV show/more party time/ Olympic Gold

Feb 20 – Feb 23^rd 2014 – RV show/more party time/ Olympic Gold

Half a pound of sausage as an Appetizer???

The last few days has been low key but fun. We watched the women’s hockey final on Thursday against the USA and loved watching them get a well deserved Gold Medal. Both the men and women got Gold in Curling and by today we were bathing in gold when the men's  hockey team also won Gold this morning against Sweden. On Friday we drove into Austin to have a look round the RV show at the convention centre. We thought that we would see some units to trade up to… but no..! For the price and the design, ours still shines out better than most, so we are content to keep it for a while longer. Of course we saw a great  motor-home with heated flooring etc etc .. but at over $350,000 we thought better than to do any more than drool over the luxury.  Who needs it??  LOL!!

Happy anticipation and a cold Shiner Bock Beer

We had planned to eat in Austin but the crowds were large and parking difficult, so we hightailed it back toward the RV Park. We were driving passed a Texas BBQ restaurant and decided that we would try it out. We have never experienced one before and …. Holy moly… the food was quite overwhelming, both in taste and quantity. True Texas smoked BBQ. We left with full stomachs and with plenty of food left over for tomorrow’s lunch. Derek had smoked prime rib.. it was cooked to perfection .. pink throughout and Janice’s lean brisket and smoked chicken was fabulous. Homemade bread, beans, coleslaw, potato salad etc etc.

Back home we had a Downton Abbey extravaganza and finished watching the rest of series 4 including the final Christmas Special.

Cheers Lisa - Happy Birthday!!!

Saturday we did some local shopping and some much needed housework before heading out with Lisa and Mike to celebrate Lisa’s birthday. Went to Nik’s Italian restaurant and met a bunch of other people there. Great evening. I gotta tell you though that there are some strange ideas here when it comes to beer. Lis’a daughter ordered a draught beer and a side order of stuffed olives and dill pickles.. then proceeded to dump the lot in her beer. So after I spent a few minutes staring in shock at the insanity of what she was doing, she offered me a taste… Not sure who thought of the idea, but the taste was not too bad.. but the best part was when the beer was gone and I got to try the beer soaked olives and pickles… SO GOOD!!!

Jehan and her strange beer/olive/pickle drink

Weird people these Americans!!!! The meal was fabulous and we had quite a few laughs. Headed back to the RV parks and the group gathered around a campfire to share a few drinks and exchange stories … just a great night. We watched the news on TV until about 1am, when we discovered that the Men’s Gold Hockey game final was on at 6am… argghhh! Clocks set we dove into bed for a few hours sleep.

Up at 5:45 am this morning we settled down to watch the game…. Whoo hoooo!! Gold again. So Canada won both curling golds and both Hockey golds, and came 3^rd in Gold Medal count and 4^th overall medal count… GO CANADA!!!! So Derek and I donned red and white clothes, picked up our Canadian flag and did a victory lap around the RV park. Much to the confusion of most of the Texans down here!!! Hockeys not a big sport in this area. After all it is 27 degrees celsius today… Ice hockey is not a major … but we had fun and a few people did know what our celebratory air was all about!!

Mini -rocket in a Texas shaped tequila bottle

Set the crockpot going with a beef brisket and veggies ready for tonight… and that is it…!!!!!! FINALLY got the blog up to date. We are looking forward to getting visitors from home over the next few weeks and have booked a 2 bedroom cottage in the RV resort for the month of March so any visitors will be comfortable.

Excellent food... and company

Sunny and warm today 27 c

Fri Feb 7th – Wed Feb 19th - Settling in and healing

Fire lit for Karaoke night

A quick review of our first 12 days in Austin. The first day was spent getting water hooked up to discover a leak in the toilet… so after his usual thorough examination and research, Derek pin-pointed the faulty valve and went out to North Austin to get a replacement from a place that claimed to have sold 100 so far this year (guess this model of toilet doesn’t take well to cold weather… note to self!!!) The first Saturday we attended the usual Karaoke night at the Freddy Powers Pavillion in the RV park and reconnected with Lisa and Mike who we met and became friends with last year. No we didn’t sing… admired the bravery of others. It was great to see them and catch up on all the news and meeting their new grandson Brody… cute as a button.
Although we are in Texas, Janice is still not too keen on venturing out as the hand/wrist is still pretty painful. But Derek has managed a couple of golf games with a large bunch of people from the Park who have formed a regular golf group. He had a great couple of days and his golf was pretty good. We have not been taking many photos as we really haven’t been out exploring much… hopefully over the next few weeks.

Lisa- "The Wind Beneath my Wings"

Amazing Brisket and smoked chicken.

Red white and blue retirement from Military

   The second weekend we had a fun and busy time. Valentines day on Friday was spent relaxing, and in the evening we went to the Valentines dinner and dance here at the resort. Lots of fun with Lisa and Mike and a few others from the park. Very well attended. The following night we had been invited by another friend from last year to his retirement party … he had gone to great trouble to fly his whole family in and many of his Army friends were there to give him a ‘roasting’. It was a ‘red white and blue’ evening with a great meal of smoked chicken, brisket and lots of sides… yum… After the meal the ‘roast’ happened and we were all entertained with stories of his life, both as a family man and a warrant officer and his 39 years of army service… wow!! Quite the character, lots of laughs and a few tears. Karaoke afterwards with dancing… and even the two of us managed a valiant ‘rock n’ roll’ (very carefully)!!!

Retiree Travis (Center) with his Dad.

Mike... let the good times roll!!

As a ‘valentines’ gift for Janice, Derek booked for her to go to see a hand/wrist orthopedic specialist here in Austin, so we went on Tuesday… what a great gift… After x-rays the Dr. spent well over 15 minutes examining her hand carefully explaining the injuries and showing us the 4... yes! 4 breaks in the radius and 2 in the ulna… also explaining that the ligament in the thumb has taken quite a beating. He injected cortisone into her wrist and has given her a 6-day course of Prednisone and arranged for a physio appointment for the next day (today). Janice finally feels like she knows what is going on and what to expect (a long recovery!).
Today (Feb 19th) we drove back to the office for the physio session, and although we were not uber-impressed with the physiotherapist, she was quite thorough and we left armed with many pages of exercises and good explanations of what we can expect. It has been a quiet couple of weeks here, much of it spent with general chores, cleaning the rig, reading and visiting friends in the park… but it has been good to kick back especially as it has warmed up radically since last week … 75-80f most days… but variable. Just nice to be in shorts and t’s…

Head table - Listening to the 'roasting'

Looking forward to catching the USA/Canada Olympic women’s hockey final tomorrow … GO CANADA….  we are surrounded by Americans but we are known as 'the Canadians' in the park.. so I am sure no one will mind our enthusiasm. 
We will try to keep the blog up to date from now on... but maybe once a week until we resume our major adventures.

Feb 3rd – Feb 6th 2014 Ontario to Texas- 3200km

Feb 3^rd – Feb 6^th 2014 Ontario to Texas- 3200km

Our journey to Texas took us from Ontario through New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina… to pick up the rig… then through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana to Texas… a total of over 3200km in three nights (4 days driving). This was quite the feat considering Derek had to drive the whole way (due to Janice’s broken arm), we normally switch up drivers every 2 hours. Janice did her bit by staying awake the whole time singing and chatting to keep Derek alert.  (no comments please!!)

The trip down to Columbia, South Carolina on Monday was long. We wanted to get within a couple of hours of where the condo was being stored so we could pick it up early enough on Tuesday to make some headway across South Carolina and Georgia.

Fortunately we sailed quickly through the border, and were fortunate not to hit any really bad weather, just a few snow squalls in New York and Pennsylvania. We drove through the day and evening and finally stopped at about 11pm at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Statesville, North Carolina… note to self… great place to stay for a nights rest en route… cheap, clean, King room, great hot breakfast included ($79 US for both of us).

We got up and had a good hearty breakfast before heading back on the road arriving at the storage facility in Columbia, South Carolina before noon on Tuesday to find all well. The condo was waiting patiently for us. We decided that, because of the freezing weather they had had in the area, we would not fill or pressurize the water system until we hooked up in Texas.. just in case we need to do some work (turned out to be a good decision!!). So we commenced our journey to Texas and on Tuesday drove clean across South Carolina and Georgia and into Alabama, stopping for the night in a campsite north of Montgomery, Alabama called Auburn RV Park At Leisure Time Campground. We arrived after dark and, after a little fidde-faddlin’, we parked in a nice spot by a river… we didn’t hook up the water but at least we had electricity and were warm and safe. Another good RV park for a short stay. Economical and good facilities.  We were up and out just after 9 on Wednesday Feb 5^th having gained an hour in time, so we had a great sleep. We stopped for gas and Derek just couldn't resist the mound of fried chicken in the gas station, so he came back to the truck with a guilty but happy face carrying two authentic southern fried chicken pieces... Immediately sharing one piece... Oh my... Naughty but delicious crunchy chicken!!! 

On the road again we headed for the Freedom Road between Montgomery, Alabama and Selma, Alabama.

Hwy 80 - Freedom Highway

Photo of Freedom Marchers

Facing State troopers on earlier attempt

The March which happened in March 1965, was a major climatic event in the Civil Rights Movement and was led (though not original organized) by Martin Luther King Jr. The marchers went from Selma to Montgomery. 8000 people started, but only 300 were allowed to march on the 2 lane section of the highway. 
The rest went by car and bus to meet them further along the road and by the time the Marchers reached the State Capital at Montgomery (54 miles away) 25,000 people had joined.  The march was the third attempt as the first ones were stopped by State Troopers and much blood had been shed. The third march started on March 16. They covered about 10 miles (16 km) each day along U.S. Route 80, known in Alabama as the "Jefferson Davis Highway". Two Thousand soldiers of the U.S. Army, 1,900 members of the Alabama National Guard under Federal command, and many FBI agents and Federal Marshals, were called in to protect them (ostensibly from their own state police). The Marchers arrived at the Alabama State Capitol on March 25 to demand their rights to be registered as voters. 

Statues depicting marchers

Outside centre in location of 'tent city'

Map of the route

Derek and I stopped at the Lowndes County Interpretive centre about halfway along the Historical Route and were fascinated by the story and the informative movie we saw there. As we continued west, it gave us much to chat about; how far civil rights have come and how far they still have to go.  At the Lowndes Centre we came to understand the importance of the March in the landscape of American history.... Very interesting and in many ways awe inspiring.

Another State on the list

Trying to get within driving distance of our final destination the next day we motored through Mississippi and into Louisiana. Along the way we noted how very poor this area is... Endless miles of seemingly sparely inhabited, sporadically farmed rural landscape.. It is humbling to see such poverty in this relatively wealthy country. I did enjoy the drive but still feeling  bad that Derek has to do all the driving. Loved the discount store called simply "DIRT CHEAP" in big red letters on the front of the store.

Just a great name for a town in Mississippi

Well after dark, we pulled in to a Pilot truck stop in Greenwood, just West of Shreveport. We gassed up and parked in the parking lot in the truck stop for the night.  Not having unhooked or used any facilities we were able to get up and get back on the road on Thursday 6^th Feb, refreshed and excited about reaching our final destination in Texas, where we would settle down until the end of March.

The drive was straightforward and we chatted merrily about how we looked forward to being settled and have a hot shower. Our only regret has been that our original planned journey had to be cut short. We enjoyed seeing the topography of the states we traveled through, but regret not being able to fit in a longer stops in the places along the way or spend any time in New Orleans… maybe another time!!! We arrived at La Hacienda RV Resort in Austin mid-afternoon and were so happy to be there. Derek parked like a pro with little guidance in our spot (C58), which is actually a tough spot to park in because of its shape. My hero!!

Unfortunately the cold weather meant that the water was not available… and it was below freezing overnight…. What the …….???? TEXAS??? Sheesh!!! 

Home until the end of March (C58, La Hacienda)